It’s been a while guys! Sorry about that extended hiatus. If you didn’t already know, I got a job! WOO! I have never been so excited in my life by the thought of employment but those funds were getting preeeeeetty low. Working over here is extremely strange though. I had no idea how well employment was in New Zealand and how many benefits we got until now. To get any kind of benefit over here you have to be considered a full time employee. However, working 40 hours a week doesn’t automatically make you a full time employee which is just weird. So the job I have now, I found on Craigslist. When I saw it on Craigslist, it was advertised as a Receptionist position however when I went to the interview it was at a recruitment company. Because of all my other Craigslist ventures, an alarm went off and I thought it may be a scam. It wasn’t by the way, but here’s why I thought it may have been! On the same day I went for an interview for my current job, I had another interview for a position I really wanted, it was advertised as an Entry Level Communication and PR Associate. Sounds perfect! Well it was far too good to be true. I got to the office which was just off Wall St, sat down with some lady with the generic European accent while she told me how I would be door to door knocking asking for money for charity. Sooo, needless to say I am a little cautious about the way things are worded over here now.

While Willem had time off over the holidays and to make the most of my current unemployment, we decided to go see some tourist sites around the city. First off we explored downtown Manhattan and went to the 9/11 memorial which was breathtaking. The memorial is free to go to but they appreciate donations. To get to the memorial you have to go through an intense security check which is fair enough considering the circumstances. When I walked in I was immediately overcome with emotion. It was such a strange feeling being there and thinking back to what it must have been like in New York on that day. The memorial is beautiful, such a simple idea that works so well. They have built waterfalls in the grave of where the towers once stood. The waterfalls are surrounded with the names of the lives that were lost, a white rose is placed on the names when it is their birthday.If you are interested in 9/11 I recommend watching all the documentaries on the attacks. It will make you think.

Hola Amigo’s and a Happy New Year! Apologies for the extreme lack of posts, I appear to have lost all motivation over the holiday period. Well our New York Christmas and New Year have been and gone but they are something I will remember forever. I’ve been able to experience Christmas in both climates because of growing up in England and then moving to New Zealand. Christmas in New York is something else all together. The entire city has a different feel about it in the month of December. It is so festive, with all the stores lit up, Christmas trees lining the streets and Salvation Army workers dancing and ringing bells to Christmas Carols on every corner. I can definitely say I prefer a cold Christmas, it is what Christmas is meant to be. I find it strange that Christmas is in Summer in New Zealand but nobody thought to edit the advertising for the Southern Hemisphere. We still think of snowmen, reindeer and Santa in his big red suit. When reality is, there is no snow if there were the snowmen would melt soon enough, reindeer are nowhere to be seen and if Santa was running from house to house in that big red suit he would be sweating up a storm! A storm I tell ya! Although I prefer the cosy winter Christmas, New Years should always be in summer, no doubt about it. After spending 11 hours standing in -3 degrees in Times Square I can confidently say that.